Wind and rain lead to power outages, accidents, flooding

Just as predicted, the region is experiencing a host of hassles this weekend wrought by winds and steady rain that could make this the wettest September in Seattle since 1978.

The nasty weather flooded some streets, homes and parking lots, and at one point left 20,000 customers throughout Seattle without power Saturday evening. It also brought a warning from the National Weather Service that Round 2 was coming Sunday.

The rain also got plenty of national attention during Saturday’s broadcast of the UW-Arizona football game.

The National Weather Service said that up to 1 ¼ inches of rain was expected in the Seattle area through 11 p.m. Saturday, with three-quarters of an inch on Sunday.

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The Weather Service also has issued a high wind watch in Seattle for late Sunday afternoon and into the evening, with predicted winds of 40 miles an hour and gusts to 60 mph.

Weather Service meteorologist Andy Haner urged those who haven’t brought their garbage cans in from the sidewalk to do so or they “might see them sailing down the street.”

On Saturday there were:

• Power outages due to broken tree limbs and other causes.

Along with the City Light outages in Seattle, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) reported 2,788 out of power in the Somerset area of Bellevue (cause undetermined); 1,050 out of power in Mount Vernon (mostly restored in the evening); 1,175 customers without power in Juanita (about two-thirds restored); and 805 customers on Bainbridge Island out of power (all restored).

On PSE’s Twitter, customers tweeted other outages: “Um, still no power in Factoria.” “just lost power in fall city.”

• Fender benders all over the place — on Interstates 5 and 405, as well as State Routes 520 and 99. The State Patrol recommended the obvious: Drive carefully, and give yourself space between cars.

• A number of rivers listed on a flood watch by the National Weather Service through Monday morning, with only the Skokomish River on the southeastern slopes of the Olympic Mountains almost certain to exceed the flood stage, said Haner. “But it’s the most flood-prone river in Western Washington,” he said.

At the Canyon Ridge Plaza in Kent, where Target and other stores are located, 104th Avenue Southeast was closed, with water reaching halfway up the door of a car.

But as Laura Allie, a cashier at Party City, which, as its name suggests, sells party supplies, explained, “People just drive down to another entrance.”

Still, for someone like LaDonna Brindos, who lives on the ground level of a five-unit apartment in downtown Kent, it was cross-your-fingers time.

“I’ve lived in this location for five or six years, and it used to flood almost every year,” she said. “Then they improved the sewer lines. Now I can see the drains are trying to let overflow, but it’s not going down fast enough for me.”

She said she’s carefully watching the sidewalk near where she parks at her apartment.